Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.88.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NDAQ. StockNews.com cut shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $76.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.38. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $58.10 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 50,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,721,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,806,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.